7 Instagram Myths That You Should Stop Believing Now

If you follow us @moosestudio on Instagram, it’s no secret how much time we spend on the social media platform. We l-o-v-e what a great tool it is to grow your business and are obsessed with helping you achieve that growth.

Today, we’re talking about some of the lies people tell about building and growing your Instagram account. We’re sure they’re coming from a place of experience, but so often we just want to shout, “No! Don’t listen to that! There’s a better way. Trust us.”

And when listening to this outdated or wrong advice stops YOU from building and growing your Instagram, that’s where we draw the line. We want you to thrive!

Let’s start by clearing up a a few Instagram Myths so you can stop holding yourself back and get hustling.

Myth #1 Instagram is just for selfies, food and day-to-day lifestyle posts.

From the outside, it may seem that way, but we can tell you from our own personal experience (over 11,000 followers) that Instagram is a gold mine for anyone who uses it for their business.

And in fact, since so many people are still under the illusion that Instagram is just for entertainment, it means that people who DO put effort into their Instagram are seeing massive results.

Bottom line : If you’re not on Instagram, your competitors will be (and they’ll be getting incredible results!)

Myth #2 Instagram won’t work in _____ niche.

Yet another LIE. We can’t tell you how often people ask us, “but does this work with X, Y, Z niche?” Of course it does! We’ve taught our most powerful Instagram strategies to all kinds of people in different niches.

We use this editing app when we want to share a photo from our personal life on Instagram. We are sticklers for consistent light and color and want every photo in our feed to flow together, even if it’s taken with a cell phone.

Our favorite thing about this app is the ability to layer “actions” (filters) and choose how much or little needs to be applied. It gives you the control you need to create a consistent feed.

We all know those people on Instagram who appear to be flawless. Obviously, there are tricks to taking the perfect selfie, but the Facetune app enhances your photos. You can whiten your smile, sharpen the details or even smooth your skin out.

Our favorite thing about this app is the ability to blur the background and mimic the quality of a DSLR camera. The best part is, it’s completely free to use and download!

Myth #4 You have to follow/unfollow people to gain followers.

Nope. Nope. Nope. That is the worst possible strategy you can use and will take you years to accomplish a massive following. Believe us, in the beginning we tried that strategy, and it didn’t work.

You should definitely follow accounts that appeal to you, but simply following people to get them to follow you back is not only tacky, but will completely rub some people the wrong way.

Myth #5 You can’t measure your results on Instagram.

The power to measure and analyze your Instagram results in invaluable. To serve better content to your audience, you need to study your engagement rate, the best times to post, and which hashtags attract the most followers.

In order to do this, you either need to switch your Instagram account to a business profile (which has analytics built in) or use a third party app such as Iconosquare specifically built for this purpose.

They say you get what you pay for, and this app is worth every penny. At $54 a year, they don’t skimp on the tools they give you. You can track and compare hashtag performance, benchmark against your competitors, and so much more. This app is the real deal and will accelerate your Instagram growth from the moment you start using it.

Another way to track your results on Instagram is by measuring thethe effectiveness of one call to action (CTA) over another. We often link to our latest offer in our Instagram profile with our software of choice: Bit.ly

Bit.ly is a url shortener and link management software. And even better, it’s free!

When you create a link using Bit.ly you can then track and measure the performance of that link with their analytics.

Myth #6 You need a TON of followers to make money on Instagram

While growing your following is important if you want to expand your reach, followers aren’t everything! Targeted, loyal followers are key. You want the people who like, comment and follow you to be interested in your business as a whole.

It’s so easy to buy followers these days, it honestly cheapens the number. Instead, focus on building a community of engaged followers that trust you. Because unless you can turn your followers into clients, then that’s all they really are, followers.

Myth #7 Instagram is too much work.

Ha! The biggest Instagram myth of them all. Let’s be real, growing your Instagram is a lot of work, but it isn’t rocket science. Unlike Twitter and Pinterest where you have to constantly post throughout the day, you only have to be on Instagram once a day. 15 minutes tops.

Think of some of your favorite accounts to follow. How often do you check up on them? Probably everyday right? It’s pretty disappointing when you visit someones feed and they haven’t updated it in a week.

If you only post once a week, you won’t see much growth. In fact, you may lose followers for not being active enough.

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10 Comments

Ooh I need to get iconosquare and PictapGo. I just created an instagram account a few months ago so sometimes feel like I am still lost. I love your tip about making sure the photo lighting/coloring is consistent. I’m terrible at that right now but it is a goal down the line.

I’ve been having such a hard time with Instagram, but this makes me feel so much better. Social media is always changing! Just when I think I’ve figured it out, it completely changes again. I hate how some people are so caught up in the follow/unfollow of Instagram. Why can’t people just follow users whose photos they genuinely like and then not unfollow them a day or two later?

Ashley

I totally agree with Myth #4. People kept telling me to do this strategy but it feels so shady and just not my style. I didn’t care if it worked or not – it just didn’t feel right to me. Thanks for sharing this list. These will definitely help me with my Instagram skills.

This is a great resource, thanks for sharing! Instagram is one of my least favorite social media platforms, so I don’t like spending too much time on it, but it is fun to scroll through to see what others are up to.
erin | sandsunandmessybuns.com

Good tips! You are so right.. I love to see updates from everyday from the people I follow. I am mostly posting everyday but sometimes I just feel a bit lazy or just feel that none of the photos fits the wall haha

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Hello, and welcome to the Moose Studio Blog! We are Josh and Michaela - a wedding photography team based in Newport Beach, California. Grab some coffee and explore our latest work, browse resources for bloggers and get a peek in our life!